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Prenthoi fixated on Olympics dream
Prenthoi Mro, one of the 11 selected male gymnasts to train under the recently-appointed coach Cho Sung Dong, shared his experience of training under the Korean coach and his ambitions for the sport with The Daily Star’s Ashfaq Ul Mushfiq. The Excerpts of the interview are as follows:
The Daily Star (DS): How did your journey start?
Prenthoi Mro (PM): In our locality of Bandarban, there is a Quantum Foundation program. Over there, we had access to various sporting activities alongside our education. I was very young when they introduced gymnastics and slowly I started from there.
DS: How is the training going so far under new coach?
PM: It has been very good. Before his arrival, it took us a long time to learn the difficult skills, but now we have become very quick learners under him.
DS: Is there any difference in the training schedule after his arrival?
PM: The duration of the training is very similar. However, the main difference is we are doing the higher-level drills, which didn’t do much in the past because we found them tough to accomplish.
DS: Is there any change in your individual performance under new coach?
PM: Previously, my style of gymnastics was very messy. I could pull off some maneuvers but my form was poor. Thanks to the coach, my form and display have significantly improved.
DS: Any improvements in diet and nutrition?
PM: Yes, we have reduced the amount of rice in our meal and increased vegetables and fish or meats. Previously, we used to eat more rice, which eventually made us more tired. Now despite eating fewer amounts, more protein and vegetables allow us to perform for a longer period.
DS: Is ‘Vaulting’ also a part of your training?
PM: No, due to the lack of space, we are unable to practice vaulting for the time being.
DS: What is your favourite event?
PM: My favourite event is ‘Parallel’ because I can do it faster and with better form than the other events in gymnastics.
DS: The federation and new coach set a target with the 2026 Asian Games and the Olympics. Do you think it’s possible?
PM: What I want to say is we need collective effort to make this come true. We need efforts from the gymnasts, coaches, and federation altogether to make this dream a reality. If we had more space and facilities to train, we could improve a lot more and win medals in the international tournaments.
We believe in ourselves and we were taught in the quantum foundation that “I can, I will”, and now with the new coach, this belief only amplifies.
DS: Unlike the major games, in Bangladesh, gymnastics doesn’t ensure much financial security for the future. Are you worried about this scenario?
PM: We all are here with one fixed mindset. And that is to play at the Olympics. What may happen in the future does make us concerned sometimes, but we don’t allow that to distract us from our main goal.
DS: Bangladesh is yet to win a single Olympics medal as so far we only emphasised on participation. What’s your individual goal?
PM: When I was younger, my goals were scattered, from becoming a doctor to other stereotypes. But after coming to gymnastics, I started dreaming about playing in the Olympics. I hope to win team and individual gold medals in the Asian games and progress to the Olympics gradually.